Drizzle, Disputation and a Murmuration

Bird News: Ibsley Water - goldeneye 1 (redhead), rock pipit 1, water pipit 1 (reported), yellow-legged gull 6.

Ivy Lake - starling c5000 to roost.

I waited for much of the day for it to get light today, it was murky, grey and drizzling for much of it, when the drizzle stopped it rained, although we did get a little sunshine in the end. This made for a poor day to see much and even worse for getting pictures of very much. I did take the chance to visit all the hides today and in the process finally saw the goldeneye which has been reported for a few days now.

At the Goosander hide there was quite a bit of grebe activity. Close to the hide 2 little grebe were feeding and the clear water allowed me to see them swimming underwater.

There was also quiet a dramatic scrap between two great crested grebe, one chased the other so much that it eventually took refuge on the shore, a very unusual thing for it to do as they are very poor at getting about on dry land. I got a really poor picture, my excuse is distance, low light etc., etc. If you look closely you can see one on the shore to the right-hand side and one in the water, as a bonus there are also 2 green sandpiper in the shot as well, although I would forgive anyone who cannot make them out!

I was also quite pleased to see another species using the perching rails, this time a cormorant, sadly without any rings.

Despite the gloom I did see a migrant hawker dragonfly int he Centre car park, hunting in the drizzle, although it was wet it was also very mild. At lunchtime a rock pipit at the Tern hide was a bonus, I heard later that a water pipit had been reported early in the morning as well, although that would have been on the eastern shore somewhere.

Right at the end of the day when I was locking the Ivy South hide the starling flock was good value over the lake wheeling and twisting, I estimated about 5000. I hope there will be some good opportunities to get pictures of them, with the grey cloud tonight was not ideal but, but you can see that there are a lot of birds out there. They were chattering and squealing, just as a good murmuration of starlings should.

Lastly, we are intending to move this blog over to WordPress very soon, information will be posted here about how to find it in the next few days

Autumn Leaves and a Few Snaps

Bird News: Ibsley Water - goldeneye 1 redhead (reported).

Not really any news as I was not actually at work today, but I did drop in with some bird food. I then took the chance to have a try out with my newly acquired digital camera, the old one having got a bit clunky recently. Even after just a few days off it was very clear that autumn had moved on as witnessed by the splendid colour of the field maple by the entrance.

The play with the camera seemed to go reasonably well, I don't think it is quite as instantly easy as my old one but the results look as though they will be OK for the blog and hopefully pictures for talks. But you can perhaps judge for yourself, a male chaffinch sat up nicely in the sun.

He was looking quite smart in fresh plumage and was having a good look around.

Possibly on the look out for females and there was one which also sat up well for a brief time.

I had a look from the Tern hide before I returned to my days off, I could not find the reported goldeneye, or much else of real note, unless you count 5 Egyptian geese. The visit did allow me to try the camera again, this time on a pair of gadwall which were close to the hide.

Winter In Summer Out

Although quite a quiet day there were several notable sightings. It was very much a day that marked the last gasp of the ended summer and ushered in the first hints of the coming winter. It was the first morning that we have had a frost, not sharp but widespread on the grass, the day itself was crisp and blue. There were siskin passing over in small numbers for most of the day and skylarks drifting west in small groups. Meadow pipits were mostly grounded with something over twenty around the lichen heath, from time to time they flew up onto the fence around the water treatment works where I got the picture.
Quite early in the day two visitors came and told me they had seen and heard a ring ouzel in the trees near the Ivy South hide, yet another new bird for the year. Unfortunately it avoided me so I still have not seen one this year. Later in the day I had a lesser redpoll fly over and then a brambling with a small group of chaffinch. Near the Lapwing hide I saw three or four chiffchaff and a couple of Cetti's warbler were reported. From the hide the first goldeneye of the season was a immature drake.

Walking round I went to look at the pollard willows, these have grown well, some putting on nearly three metres, so they should be good for basket makers next winter.

Other birds today included a single swallow, flying north, a raven which flew over east calling loudly. On Ibsley Water 5 goosander were loafing on the spit between the Goosander and Tern hides. On Ivy Lake the two pairs of mandarin were still present and the drakes are starting to look quite smart now. Also on Iblsey Water a green sandpiper, a report of a common sandpiper and a mystery wader flying with lapwing when they were flushed by peregrine.

Other signs of the mixed seasons were several migrant hawker and common darter dragonflies, there were also singing wood crickets and several meadow grasshoppers. Red admiral and speckled wood were the only butterflies I saw but there were several of each.

At the end of the day I found the beetle larva below walking across the concrete near the Tern hide. I don't know what species it is but it had a fierce set of jaws and must be a predator of some kind.